Liquid level gauge



Margh 9 1 J. M. HALL 2,544,262

LIQUID LEVEL GAUGE Filed Feb. 26, 1946 F' ,1 .2 7 fg '1 y g Z5 29 li 28'f a: 0, A

/7 Inventor JAMES M. HALL.

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Patented Mar. 6, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE a a I 2,544,262

, LIQUID LEVEL GAUGE James M. Hall, Phoenix, Ariz.

Application r biiia y'ze, 1946, Serial No. 650,325

This invention relates to new and useful im'-' provements and structuralrefinements in liquid level gauges, more specifically, to a gauge of thecharacter herein described, which is particularly adapted for use inmeasuring the amount of gasoline in underground storage tanks in servicestations and the like.

Heretofore, this measuring has been accomplished by inserting a woodenstick or ,bar into the tank through the filler opening and determiningthe level with respect to graduations marked on .7 such sticks However,owing to its capillary action, the gasoline has frequently creptupwardly on the stick, and the measurement thus obtained was highlyinaccurate.

Itis therefore the principal object of'the invention to eliminatethisdisadvantageb'y entrapping a quantity of gasoline in a transparentgraduated tube, from which the level intl'ie tank may be readily andcorrectly determined;

A further object of the invention is to provide a gauge which is simplein construction, safe inoperation, and which cannot easilybecomedamaged. FT 3 Another object of the invention is to provide a gaugewhich, in addition to its primary use for measuring gasoline in storagetanks, majgalso be employed generally for the measurement of any liquid,contained in various receptacles.-

With the above more important objects in view, and such other objects asmay become apparent as this specification proceeds, the inventionconsists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts asillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view, taken in the plane of the line 2-2in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view, partially broken away;

Figure 4 is an underside plan view;

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view, taken in the plane of the line 5-5in Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of a plug used in the invention, and

Figure 7 is a cross sectional view, taken in the plane of the line l'!in Figure 6.

Like characters of reference are used to designate like parts in thespecification and throughout the several views.

2 Claims. (01. 33- 1264!) Referring now to the accompanying drawings indetail, the invention consists of a vertically disposed tube It],constructed of transparent, non-fragile material such as plastic, andprovided on the surface thereon, preferably on the inner surfacethereof, with suitable gradua-,

tions II.

A self closing valve designated generally by the reference character"I2, is provided at the lower end of the tube [0, this valve consistingof a plug l3, formed integrally with the externally threaded adapter I4,this being designed for removable engagement with the internallythreaded portion I5 provided in the lower end of the tube In.

The plug l3 may be knurled as shown at l6 and an axial bore I! is formedin the plug, as will be clearly apparent from the accompanying.

end of the plug, in communication with the bore ll. v

A plurality of fluid channels 20 are also formed in. the body of theplug I3, these channels extending radially and upwardly from the bore I1and communicating with the: interior of the .The' inner end of theplugI3 is provided with" an externally threaded adapter 2| and a tubularcasing 22, internally threaded at itslower end, is positioned on theadapter 2|, as is best illustrated in the accompanying Figure 2.

A needle 23, configurated substantially as shown, is positioned in thecasing 22 and being slidable in the bore ll, coacts with theaforementioned needle seat l8. The upper end of the needle 23 isprovided with the stem z i, the latter projecting through a suitableaperture 25 formed in the closed upper end of the casing 22. Acompression spring 26 is positioned on the stem 24 between the end ofthe casing and the needle 23, said spring normally urging the needleagainst the seat l8. The sides of the casing 22 are also provided with aplurality of liquid passages or 'end plate 28, the latter in turn,carrying a bracket constituted by a pair of upstanding lugs 29.

A lever 30 is pivoted medially of its length by means of a pin or screw3| to the lugs 29, the outer end of this lever forming an actuatinghandle or button 32. The remaining, that is, the inner end of the lever30 is formed with an aperture 33 and a suitable cable 34 is secured atone end thereof in this aperture, as will be clearly apparent from theaccompanying drawings. The cable 34 passes through a suitable passage 35formed in the end plate 28 and is connected at ing the associated needle23 therewith, against the resiliency of the spring 26. Heretofore, theneedle has engaged the seat l8 thus closing the channels 20, but as theneedle is raised,the gasoline will flow through the passages 19 into thebore I! and through the channels 20- into the in-- terior of the tubel0.

level of the gasoline in the tank, the handle 32 is released and thespring 26 will urge the needle 23 against the seat l8, thus closing thechannels 20, and preventing the escape of gasoline from the tube. Thegauge as a whole may now be withdrawn from the storage tank and byreading the level of the "gasoline in the tube against'the' graduation lI, the exact level of gasoline in the tank may be readily and accuratelydetermined.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferredembodiment of this invention it is to be -understood that minor changesin the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as claimed.

What I claim as my invention is:

1..In a liquid level gauge including, a transparent, graduated tubehaving an apertured wall at one end, a closure plug at the remaining endof the tube having an axial bore, and a valve normally closing the bore,means for raising the valve from its closedposition comprising a leverpivotally mounted on the apertured wall, and a lifting cord carried bythe lever and connected tothe valve, said lever having an aperturethere:

in, said cord extending through the aperture and having a knot at oneend overlying the lever.

2. A liquid level gauge comprising a transparent graduated tube, asupport plate at one end of said tube, a plug threaded in the other endof said tube and having an axial bore, said bore including a reducedouter end forming a valve seat within the bore, a reduced externallythreaded sleeve integrally formed with said plug about said bore, acasing threaded on said sleeve and including an end plate having anaperture in registry with said bore, a needle valve slidably received insaid bore and said casing and having a stem-received in said aperture,said plug having a plurality of fluid channels extending in radialplanesfrom the bore and connecting the bore with the interior of thetube, a spring surrounding said stem and biased between said end Whenthe gasoline in the tube has reached the plate and said needle valve toyieldingly urge the needle valve against said seatand the needle valveto a position for closing. the fluid channels, a lever pivoted on thesupport plate, and a lifting cord terminally secured to said lever andsaid stem, said'support plate having a central opening receiving saidcord.

- JAMES M. HALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

. UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 848,898 Gregson Apr. 2, 1907896,7 61 Rutenber Aug. 25, 1908 1,353,193 Townsend Sept.21, 19201,594,210 Mann July 27, 1926 1,759,444 Dunn et a1 May 20, 1930 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country I Date 354,037 France July 17, 1905 192,146 GreatBritain Jan. 25, 1923 70,415 Sweden Oct. 14, 1930

